McMurdo Seasonal Instrument Technician

Leidos Inc; United States; On-site; USD 87,000 - 157,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos is seeking a McMurdo Seasonal Instrument Technician to support USAP scientists at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. This role maintains laboratories across disciplines, assists in operation and calibration of instruments, and ensures safe, reliable instrument performance in remote field conditions.

The position runs 4–5 months (October to February, austral summer) with a 54-hour work week. US citizenship or permanent residency is required, plus a Public Trust clearance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 4+ years relevant experience or Master's with 2+ years relevant experience.
• Organizational and interpersonal skills; self-motivated to carry out projects independently.
• Good verbal communication, computer literacy, and problem-solving abilities.
• Experience in a research environment providing direct support to science events/projects.
• Willingness and ability to deploy to Antarctica for ~4–5 months.
• US citizenship or US permanent residency is required.

Responsibilities

• Assist in reviewing research requirements, planning, and scheduling laboratory support for science projects.
• Assist in procuring laboratory and field instruments and equipment.
• Maintain inventories of spare parts and instruments; install new instruments.
• Check calibration and functioning of instruments before/after use; troubleshoot as needed.
• Provide emergency repairs and perform maintenance and calibration records.
• Maintain safety and proper handling of cryogens and hazardous materials; coordinate with labs and support staff.
• Brief grantees/scientists on safe laboratory practices; input improvements to lab systems.
• Monitor on-call duties and be available for alarms; conduct briefings and tours as required.
• Interact professionally with NSF, military, and agency officials; uphold safety as top priority.

Skills

Organizational skills

Interpersonal skills

Verbal communication

Problem-solving

Self-motivated

Research support experience

US citizenship / Permanent residency

Willingness to deploy to Antarctica

Education

Bachelor's degree + 4+ years experience or Master's + 2+ years

Job description

Description

The Leidos Corporation is seeking a McMurdo Seasonal Instrument Technician. This position is responsible for assisting in the safe operation and maintenance of laboratories in support of USAP scientists at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. These laboratories support scientists from multiple disciplines conducting basic and applied research in Antarctica. Laboratories include analytical chemistry, computer, microbiology, microscopy, molecular biology, radioisotope, seawater aquaria, and general use laboratories. A full range of spare parts and accessories plus some vendor technician support are provided to maintain the operation of a diverse inventory of equipment and analytical instruments supplied by the laboratories or the scientists, in both the laboratory and field.

This position requires deployment to Antarctica and has a contract length of 4-5 months from approximately October to February (Austral Summer). While deployed, the standard work schedule for this position is 54 hours per week. The candidate in the position must complete the physical and dental examinations required by the NSF for deploying to Antarctica. Failure to meet these requirements may result in withdrawal of employment offer or other employment action.

Due to contract requirements, US Citizenship is required.

Must obtain a Public Trust security clearance prior to start date. This process could take up to 4 months.

Primary Responsibilities

• Assists in review of research requirements, planning, and scheduling of laboratory support for science projects.
• Assists in researching, evaluating, justifying, and procuring laboratory and field instruments and equipment.
• Assists in maintaining appropriate and accurate inventories of spare parts.
• Installs new and stored lab instruments.
• Checks functioning and calibration of all instruments before and after grantee use.
• Troubleshoots all instruments and equipment as needed.
• Provides emergency repairs for all laboratory instruments as needed.
• Performs calibrations; writes, updates, and performs preventative maintenance.
• Maintains instrument maintenance/repair history files and calibration certificates.
• Packages and tracks capital equipment and instruments for recalibration, repair, replacement, winter storage, and/or transfer to research vessels as needed.
• Assures all instrument-related entries in the inventory, equipment, and preventative maintenance databases are kept current.
• Briefs grantees/scientists on safe laboratory practices, and care/maintenance of USAP-owned instrumentation.
• Provides input to the S&TPS McMurdo Implementation Manager on suggested improvements to the laboratories and the associated systems that would enhance their use as research facilities.
• Assists in scheduling and coordinating the fabrication of equipment and other support requests made by science projects.
• Assists the S&TPS Hazardous Chemicals Manager, as needed, in providing cryogens, monitoring the safe use of cryogens, and monitoring the cryogenic supplies inventory.
• Assists the S&TPS Laboratory Supervisor, as needed, with Laboratory Assistant tasking (facility management and logistical/technical tasking) in support of deployed science teams.
• Monitoring the Duty Pager and being on-call 24/7 for alarms or issues approximately one week of every month.
• Conducts briefings on research and tours of the laboratory facilities for distinguished visitors.
• Handles confidential matters (personnel actions, management reports, etc.) in accordance with management policy.
• Interacts with the National Science Foundation, military, and other agency officials, both over the telephone and in person, in a professional and tactful manner.
• Responsible for maintaining a safe workplace program and ensuring safety is the highest priority in the work place.
• Performs other duties as required.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and at least 4 years' relevant experience or a Master's degree and at least 2 years' relevant experience.
• A successful candidate must demonstrate organizational and interpersonal skills and be self-motivated to identify and carry out projects and requests on their own.
• Good verbal communication skills, computer literacy, and problem-solving skills are required.
• Experience in a research environment providing direct support to science events/projects required.
• Must successfully complete the physical and dental examinations as required by the NSF for deployment to Antarctica.
• Willingness and ability to deploy to Antarctica for approximately 4-5 months is required.
• US citizenship or US Permanent Residency is required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Four years of laboratory or observatory technical work experience. Laboratory or observatory technical work should include operational experience utilizing analytical equipment.
• Previous experience working in Antarctica or another remote research station is desired.
• Comfortable with public speaking.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo - because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, prove, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 - and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Pay Range

Pay Range $87,100.00 - $157,450.00

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers.

• Competitive compensation
• Health and Wellness programs
• Income Protection
• Paid Leave
• Retirement

More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Securing Your Data

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Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.